Flagstaff Police Department. (07-21-15). The Flagstaff Police Department has been aggressively investigating the series of threats made to our public schools this past spring. This investigation has been a top priority for the Flagstaff Police Department since we received the first threat. In partnership with the Flagstaff Unified School District and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), 29 year old VIKTOR LISNYAK of Staten Island New York was taken into custody in regards to these threats.

These combined investigations began in March when Thomas Elementary school received a threat from a computer generated type call indicating the caller was armed, suicidal, and near children. Other threatening calls were later received at Marshall Elementary, Knoles Elementary, and Mount Elden Middle School. All of these calls had certain details in common, and every threat was taken seriously. Flagstaff Unified School District employees as well as the Flagstaff Police Department remained vigilant in their emergency lock down responses.

The Flagstaff Police Department and the Flagstaff Unified School District met with concerned parents at the Flagstaff High School Gym on April 23, 2015 to assure the community of our continuing investigation and to answer any questions. Flagstaff Police Department personnel also met with school officials to rehearse strategies and review best practices on responding to these types of threats.

Detective Sergeant Ryan Beckman along with Detectives Adrian Barreras, and Casey Rucker worked tirelessly on this investigation. This information was shared with our local FBI office and together a collective investigation commenced. Detectives Barreras and Rucker are cross deputized as special deputies through the FBI. This collaboration allowed the investigation to progress with the help of federal resources.

On July 15, 2015 Detective Adrian Barreras and Detective Casey Rucker flew to New York accompanied by a FBI special agent. Upon arriving in Staten Island, they were able to make contact with VIKTOR LISNYAK. LISNYAK admitted making threatening phone calls to Flagstaff schools.

Twenty nine year old VIKTOR LISNYAK was taken into custody, and is scheduled to appear in Arizona Federal court on July 29, 2015 on five counts of violating Title 18, United States Code, Section 875 ( c), which reads “Knowingly and willfully transmitting in Interstate commerce threats to injure or kill the person of another, including children, in violations of Title 18. Each one of these counts may result in a maximum sentence of up to five years in prison and a fine of up to two hundred and fifty thousand dollars. There is a potential to obtain restitution for the emergency school responses and investigative costs of these calls.

Flagstaff Police Chief Kevin Treadway concluded, “We heard our communities concerns in regards to these shameful threats against our children and in April, the Flagstaff Police Department vowed to do our best to identify and apprehend the individual responsible. Our detectives have been working tirelessly since, and their tenacity paid off. We appreciate the close working relationship we have with the FBI and FUSD, relationships that were strengthened through this experience. I am happy our children, teachers and parents can be relieved of this burden as school begins this fall semester”. XXX

FUSD Superintendent Barbara Hickman stated “On behalf of the entire FUSD community including our Governing Board, parents, students, and all of our dedicated staff members, I want to thank the FPD for their great tenacity and skill in the resolution of these crimes. I am deeply appreciative of the way that the Flagstaff Police Department focused their efforts on catching this individual and their willingness to pursue this to the lengths that they did to get it solved. While I believe that the FUSD and FPD responded to the weeks of menacing phone calls with seriousness and professionalism, it was a very wearing and uncertain time for everyone and it is a relief to have that situation settled so that we can look forward to the start of school without lingering fears regarding those threats. We are fortunate to live in a town with such a committed and engaged police department. The partnership between FUSD and the FPD is very strong and this is a great example of how we can work together to make our school community safer for everyone. "

April 28, 2015 Sinagua
Middle School was awarded the A+ School of ExcellenceTM designation from the Arizona Educational
Foundation (AEFTM). AEFTM Executive Director, Bobbie O’Boyle
stated in the letter written to Principal Tari Popham, “You, your staff, your
students and your community are to be commended for overall excellence and for
all the hard work and collaborative effort it took to earn this award. Based on your outstanding application and a
very memorable and impressive site visit to your campus, your school has truly
earned the Arizona Educational Foundation’s A+ School of Excellence
designation.” Ms. O’Boyle stated in their press release,
“The A+ School of Excellence™ program celebrates outstanding schools throughout
Arizona and calls attention to the positive stories and successes occurring in
public schools,” “We applaud these schools for doing whatever it takes to meet
their students’ needs and achieving overall success despite some of the
challenges that face the education community statewide.”

Applicant
schools are evaluated in the areas of student focus and support, school culture,
active teaching and learning, curriculum, leadership, community and parent
involvement and assessment data.

The A+ School of
Excellence™ Program was created by the Arizona Educational Foundation in 1983.
Its purpose is threefold:

§ to identify and give public recognition
to outstanding public schools in Arizona;

§ to make available a comprehensive
framework of key criteria for school effectiveness that can serve as a basis
for participatory self-assessment and planning in schools;

§ to facilitate communication and sharing
of best practices within and among schools based on a common criteria related
to success.

According to the Arizona
Educational Foundations website “Schools submit applications that provide
demographic information, a description of current programs and practices,
documentation of parent and community involvement, a profile of the school’s
leadership and commitment to excellence, equity, service. Schools must
demonstrate sustained high achievement or significant improvement through
assessment data. Winning schools are recognized for their superior ability to
identify and meet the academic and non-academic needs of their student
population. Schools that earn the A+ School of Excellence™ designation retain
their status for a 3-year period after which time they must reapply for
the award.”

FUSD has gone paperless for flyers. Flagstaff Unified School District has launched a new electronic flyer communication tool called “Peachjar” for all FUSD schools. To view school-approved eflyers, simply click the Peachjar button on your school’s website homepage. These flyers will give you information from community partners that will include announcements about sports activities, clubs and programs outside of the school that may be of interest to your family, and from our schools and PTOs. No action is required on your part. You should have received a welcome email from our service provider (Peachjar) that includes a username and password. This is provided to give you the opportunity to manage your account and flyer delivery preferences. You do not need to login to receive or view school eflyers. Thank you for supporting our efforts to ensure parents are well informed about school programs, activities, and events. We are happy to be going paperless in the process.If you have any questions please contact Karin Eberhard at 527-6004 or keberhard@fusd1.org